{"594353":{"#nid":"594353","#data":{"type":"news","title":"OMED\u2019s Challenge Program Welcomes One of Its Largest Cohorts to Georgia Tech This Summer ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the Institute of Education Sciences, students who participate in summer \u0026ldquo;bridge\u0026rdquo; programs to ease the transition from high school to college are significantly more likely to graduate \u0026mdash; and graduate with superior academic performance \u0026mdash; than non-program participants.\u003Csup\u003E1\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor nearly four decades, OMED: Educational Services has offered Challenge, a summer academic preparation program, to help prepare incoming freshmen for a successful college career \u0026mdash; academically, professionally, and socially.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis summer, the Challenge program welcomed one of its largest cohorts representing 23 different majors to Georgia Tech. Fifty-four percent were women \u0026mdash; the highest percentage since the program\u0026rsquo;s inception \u0026mdash; and 68 percent were black.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The Institute\u0026rsquo;s Black Student Experience Task Force recently recommended expanding Challenge to 175 underrepresented minority and women students per program over the next three years,\u0026rdquo; said Archie Ervin, vice president for Institute Diversity. \u0026ldquo;The growth of this year\u0026rsquo;s cohort is a strategic response to those recommendations.\u0026rdquo; Among the 137 black students who were considered eligible for Challenge, 41 percent participated in the program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;To successfully and sustainably grow Challenge, OMED enhanced the program\u0026rsquo;s academic focus and structure to attract more high-performing students, and increased corporate and institutional funding and alumni sponsorship to provide fee waivers,\u0026rdquo; explained Sybrina Atwaters, assistant director of outreach initiatives for OMED and director of the program. \u0026ldquo;It was remarkable to see the caliber of this year\u0026rsquo;s cohort who voluntarily chose to participate in this intensive program before fall semester.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOver five weeks, participants were immersed in the Georgia Tech environment, living in a first-year dorm, taking classes, and participating in activities like whitewater rafting and mental health and well-being workshops. Individually, each student logged 4,500 in-class minutes of computer science, calculus, and chemistry; 1,560 in-class minutes of interpersonal development training; and 1,560 minutes of corporate engagement and professional development training.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m significantly more prepared for fall semester,\u0026rdquo; undergraduate Alexander Bustos told the audience at the Challenge closing banquet on July 27. \u0026ldquo;It all comes down to happiness, and I\u0026rsquo;m a happier person from this experience.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELast year, the average fall first semester GPA of Challenge participants was 3.26 compared to the 3.17 GPA of non-Challenge participants.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I am so proud of my students, and it recharged me to see their enthusiasm this summer,\u0026rdquo; reflected Ta Nycia Wooden, one of the Challenge Counselors and an undergraduate student in the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business. Twenty Challenge Counselors served as role models and peer mentors to incoming freshmen during the program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Challenge program is supported by the following corporate partners and sponsors: 3M, Bechtel, BP, Eaton, ExxonMobil, GE Aviation, John Deere, Procter \u0026amp; Gamble, and Southwire.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo learn more about Challenge, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.omed.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ewww.omed.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch6\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Csup\u003E1 \u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026ldquo;Summer Bridge Programs,\u0026rdquo; WWC Intervention Report by the U.S. Department of Education\u0026rsquo;s Institute of Education Sciences (July 2016). \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Black Student Experience Task Force Recommends Expanding Challenge to 175 Incoming Freshmen Enrollees Per Program Over the Next Three Years"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"OMED\u2019s 37th annual Challenge program welcomed one of its largest cohorts representing 23 different majors to Georgia Tech. Challenge, a summer academic preparation program, helps prepare incoming freshmen for a successful college career."}],"uid":"27465","created_gmt":"2017-08-11 20:13:22","changed_gmt":"2017-08-11 20:54:25","author":"Annette Filliat","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"594354":{"id":"594354","type":"image","title":"OMED\u2019s 37th Annual Challenge Program ","body":null,"created":"1502482627","gmt_created":"2017-08-11 20:17:07","changed":"1502482627","gmt_changed":"2017-08-11 20:17:07","alt":"OMED\u2019s 37th Annual Challenge Program ","file":{"fid":"226512","name":"OMED Challenge 2017 Group Photo .jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%202017%20Group%20Photo%20.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%202017%20Group%20Photo%20.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1170574,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%202017%20Group%20Photo%20.jpg?itok=1ohLwPr-"}},"594356":{"id":"594356","type":"image","title":"Challenge Participants at Southwire Headquarters ","body":null,"created":"1502482941","gmt_created":"2017-08-11 20:22:21","changed":"1502482941","gmt_changed":"2017-08-11 20:22:21","alt":"Challenge Participants at Southwire Headquarters ","file":{"fid":"226513","name":"OMED Southwire Trip July 2017.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Southwire%20Trip%20July%202017.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Southwire%20Trip%20July%202017.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1445714,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/OMED%20Southwire%20Trip%20July%202017.jpg?itok=vCJDzAGU"}},"594357":{"id":"594357","type":"image","title":"Challenge Ocoee River Whitewater Rafting Trip","body":null,"created":"1502483208","gmt_created":"2017-08-11 20:26:48","changed":"1502483208","gmt_changed":"2017-08-11 20:26:48","alt":"Challenge Ocoee River Whitewater Rafting Trip","file":{"fid":"226514","name":"OMED Challenge Whitewater Rafting 2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%20Whitewater%20Rafting%202.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%20Whitewater%20Rafting%202.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1112561,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%20Whitewater%20Rafting%202.jpg?itok=X_vEsQv5"}},"594358":{"id":"594358","type":"image","title":"Challenge Closing Banquet ","body":null,"created":"1502483451","gmt_created":"2017-08-11 20:30:51","changed":"1502483475","gmt_changed":"2017-08-11 20:31:15","alt":"Challenge Closing Banquet ","file":{"fid":"226515","name":"OMED Challenge Closing Banquet - Alexander Bustos BP.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%20Closing%20Banquet%20-%20Alexander%20Bustos%20BP.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%20Closing%20Banquet%20-%20Alexander%20Bustos%20BP.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":489241,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/OMED%20Challenge%20Closing%20Banquet%20-%20Alexander%20Bustos%20BP.jpg?itok=1JKpjAV-"}}},"media_ids":["594354","594356","594357","594358"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/omed.gatech.edu\/","title":"OMED: Educational Services "},{"url":"http:\/\/csdi.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion"},{"url":"http:\/\/diversity.gatech.edu\/","title":"Institute Diversity "}],"groups":[{"id":"1313","name":"Institute Diversity"},{"id":"1307","name":"Office of Minority Education and Development (OMED)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4100","name":"challenge"},{"id":"6045","name":"OMED"},{"id":"170543","name":"Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion"},{"id":"9171","name":"institute diversity"},{"id":"170623","name":"black student experience task force"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnnette Filliat\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Diversity\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Eannette.filliat@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["annette.filliat@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}